Saturday, August 15, 2009

Goals

Yet again, I am sitting on my balcony drinking coffee, with the laptop, doing nothing. This has been a very slow week: unpacking, getting settled, running a few errands, but not really *doing* much. Next week, all that will change. I'll be in Orientation from 9-5 every day, and then classes will start the next week, so I decided to take the time, while things are slow, to write out my goals for my MFA.

1. To write a lot! And to write the best poetry I can. To learn from my teachers and fellow students and from the new experiences I will have. To synthesize all of that in with my own existing voice.

2. To teach. To learn as much as I can about the theory and practice of teaching and to be the best instructor I can. To challenge and inspire and learn from my students. To be a force for good in their lives and their college careers.

3. To learn to network. I've never been good at this, but I'm hoping to learn and to make a lot of friends and professional connections. To contribute positively to workshops and classes and to the department. To join some sort of professional organization(s) and contribute to the larger community.

4. To take a non-fiction workshop, to develop a plan for the non-fiction book I want to write.

5. To put together a cohesive collection of poetry. To develop good writing and submission habits. To publish poems, and, ultimately, a collection.

6. To develop my voice and abilities as a critical reader and writer, to prepare and publish scholarly articles, to apply to (and get accepted into) the PhD program here at Penn State.

4 comments:

yurchie said...

These are very ambitious :D Wish you luck and I'm sure you'll be very successful at accomplishing whatever you put your mind to!

I think networking is under appreciated and a lot of people don't realize how important it is. I'm still trying to work on that myself. It's kind of interesting, the variety of people I've met throughout this process.

Unknown said...

These are great goals. I am certain you will graduate well accomplished.

We all miss you!

Jill said...

These are great goals! I look forward to reading your blog and catching up w/you on RWP to see how it's going!

Emily said...

Thanks everyone!